Call to revamp business entities

THE Western Highlands government-owned Melpa Properties Ltd was the biggest provincial government owned business entity in Papua New Guinea in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, it’s been milked off and downgraded to its bare bones of all its property holdings and net assets worth nationwide. East New Britain government-owned ENB Development Corporation is by far the richest, best-managed, most-transparent and most-successful business of any provincial government in PNG. It now has a net worth exceeding K1 billion. West New Britain government-owned businesses are also performing exceedingly well in Papua New Guinea. What has happened to the tens of millions of business assets of Melpa Properties Ltd in Papua New Guinea? All seem to have been depleted. The same story goes for Wamp Nga Holdings Ltd. At one time, Wamp Nga was the biggest and most-successful council-owned business enterprise in the whole nation. Today, Wamp Nga assets and facilities have been sold, and are now skeletons of their past. Whatever happened to the astute business acumen of men from Mt Hagen in the examples of late Paul Pora and late Kagul Koroka, to name a few? We need to get back on our feet in Western Highlands and set the benchmark higher in both business and politics. The new crop of leadership, if ever it happens, and whenever that happens, should seriously look into revamping these two business entities. There must be a resurgence for more success and benefits to our people again. Over to you all.